This invention relates generally to portable blowers of the kind that can be carried by an operator and used to clear leaves and other debris and, more particularly, to blowers of this kind that are electrically powered.
Portable leaf blowers of this general kind are well known. Most such blowers are powered by small internal combustion engines carried on the operator's back. A duct extends from the backpack, with a handle allowing the operator to manipulate the duct to direct the flow of air. Although gasoline-powered leaf blowers of this kind function generally satisfactorily, they are considered to generate excessive noise and air pollution. This excessive noise has led some municipalities even to enact ordinances making the use of such gasoline-powered blowers illegal under certain conditions.
Efforts have been made in the past to develop electrically powered blowers to compete with gasoline-powered blowers. Such efforts have not proven to be entirely successful. Electrically powered blowers that have achieved the desired low noise levels have provided inadequate air flow and velocity. On the other hand, electrically powered blowers that have provided adequate air flow and velocity have been unduly noisy and/or bulky and cumbersome to use.
There remains a need for an electrically powered portable blower that can provide levels of air flow and velocity comparable to those of gasoline-powered blowers, yet that generates substantially reduced noise and that is lightweight and convenient to operate. The present invention fulfills this need and provides further related advantages.